I've recently (last 3 years) begun writing fantasy novels and I'm now working on my sixth. What inspired me wasn't a beautifully written novel but a terrible one. The author had written many works and published them, all of which were trash. I thought, if this shmuck can do it then surely I can too. Turns out it was true. I now make it a habit of occasionally reading terrible writing. It's a great motivator!
I don't have to be the best writer in the world. I just want to be better than THAT guy.
I had a very similar experience that gave me permission to pursue hobby-level writing. I read a very long series of books (Defiance of the Fall) that starts with frankly terrible writing (sorry Jeff if you somehow read this) but also contained some genuinely good concepts.
Not only is this a pretty successful series but it’s 16 books long! The writing gets progressively better and the strong concepts (heavily borrowed or otherwise) carry it through. The latest books are not legendary or anything like that but I really do enjoy them and the writing no longer gets in the way of that.
This sort of progression is way more inspirational to me than reading Hemingway’s best or listening to a Ted Talk. It’s objective clear evidence that you can just start writing, even releasing the weak stuff, and both succeed and improve simultaneously.
I really needed to read this today. I have been avoiding tasks that I know will challenge me lately. I will be hopping on the treadmill to make bad art metaphorically speaking. Its hard to accept failure as a valid option, but I think it is something that I need to practice currently. I really need to stop taking myself so seriously.
"On the other hand, if we can’t accept failure in our hearts, we’ve already lost. Not only do we deny ourselves the possibility of succeeding (and what is success in art but a chance to enjoy ourselves and connect with people?), but from experiencing the process and all that it has to teach us. We have to embrace it all or embrace nothing."
I started to see them on IG a few years ago when I used it a lot more than I do now
the "positive power electronics" music thing is a take I don't think I had seen before (though it must be more uncommon than rare), and it's delightful
I think a lot about the "it's easier to destroy than create" thing, to paint a dystopia than a eutopia, n the Let's Paint work is an interesting reflection on that
Love this. I feel this narrative is woefully under-appreciated. I think there’s something beautiful about watching people who aren’t near the top of their field, “normal” people who are just trying to have fun. But that doesn’t make a good story usually. I’ve tried writing some fiction along these lines, and it requires quite a bit more narrative to convey.
The writer mentions Kilduff is a 'trained comedian'. Is that really something you can go to school and study? To me it came off as implying that was superior to being an untrained comedian.
> He also trained with famed sketch comedy troupe the Groundlings (past alumni include Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig) and studied improv at Los Angeles City College.
The "Groundlings" homepage [2] describes them as a "non-profit organization that offers shows, classes, and corporate events in improvisation and sketch comedy*, while LACC offers some courses through the Rodney Dangerfield Institute [3].
So while there doesn't seem to be an "M.Sc. in comedy" you can learn it at some institutions, as long as you're willing to move to LA.
I do believe that humor and being funny can be learned, and thus taught. Everything from language structure, pacing, expectations (eg the listener builds an expectation or belief of what the comedian talks about, but in the last few words, it is revealed that you were completely wrong). Hm. I find I have a hard time expressing myself, I lack the words and terminology and frameworks I think...
This is great. One of the things I say to my wife all the time, which is taken from a Kurt Vonnegut quote, is that "I don't have to be good at my hobbies".
This is just another way of pampering and making people insensitive or oblivious to what is desirable and what is not, what is progress and what is not. Saying whatever you do is right or no need to strive for improvement etc just for the sake of keeping them happy, is more harmful than telling them that they are doing it bad. People should learn to accept correct feedback, not expect total lack of it.
There is nothing called absolute success or failure, but there is a direction for improvement. You need to make sure to know which direction is improvement and which is not, and move in right direction. Correct feedback is important, just like what this my comment is doing.
> Saying whatever you do is right or no need to strive for improvement etc just for the sake of keeping them happy, is more harmful than telling them that they are doing it bad.
I notice you don’t say why this should be true. It’s easy to see why one might consider it true for someone’s profession - but when it comes to hobbies, or people trying something they’ve never done before, your perspective is less obviously correct.
Nice reminder that constraints can push creativity in ways perfect conditions never do. The treadmill setup makes the painting less predictable and more intentional, and the piece works because of that challenge, not despite it.
I've recently (last 3 years) begun writing fantasy novels and I'm now working on my sixth. What inspired me wasn't a beautifully written novel but a terrible one. The author had written many works and published them, all of which were trash. I thought, if this shmuck can do it then surely I can too. Turns out it was true. I now make it a habit of occasionally reading terrible writing. It's a great motivator!
I don't have to be the best writer in the world. I just want to be better than THAT guy.
I had a very similar experience that gave me permission to pursue hobby-level writing. I read a very long series of books (Defiance of the Fall) that starts with frankly terrible writing (sorry Jeff if you somehow read this) but also contained some genuinely good concepts.
Not only is this a pretty successful series but it’s 16 books long! The writing gets progressively better and the strong concepts (heavily borrowed or otherwise) carry it through. The latest books are not legendary or anything like that but I really do enjoy them and the writing no longer gets in the way of that.
This sort of progression is way more inspirational to me than reading Hemingway’s best or listening to a Ted Talk. It’s objective clear evidence that you can just start writing, even releasing the weak stuff, and both succeed and improve simultaneously.
I really needed to read this today. I have been avoiding tasks that I know will challenge me lately. I will be hopping on the treadmill to make bad art metaphorically speaking. Its hard to accept failure as a valid option, but I think it is something that I need to practice currently. I really need to stop taking myself so seriously.
The late potter and educator John Neely would often say to his students and others:
> “I don’t put too much stock in creativity. Creativity itself won’t get you very far, you can’t always rely on it. But you can rely on hard work”
Knowing John and the chaotic world of clay perhaps deepens the profundity here, but even on its own it’s advice I freely share with anyone.
"On the other hand, if we can’t accept failure in our hearts, we’ve already lost. Not only do we deny ourselves the possibility of succeeding (and what is success in art but a chance to enjoy ourselves and connect with people?), but from experiencing the process and all that it has to teach us. We have to embrace it all or embrace nothing."
Words of wisdom and inspiration.
https://youtube.com/@letspainttv
beautiful art
I started to see them on IG a few years ago when I used it a lot more than I do now
the "positive power electronics" music thing is a take I don't think I had seen before (though it must be more uncommon than rare), and it's delightful
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_electronics_(music_genre...
positive, as in, compared to, say, big name UK act Whitehouse https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m0wDEjccTkHXUG52Cz...
fwiw, not all of it is that harsh!
there's a fair netradio for that style; https://www.radio-browser.info/search?page=1&order=clickcoun...
I think a lot about the "it's easier to destroy than create" thing, to paint a dystopia than a eutopia, n the Let's Paint work is an interesting reflection on that
What's the positive power electronics thing? I think I missed it. Would love to see the take.
Love this. I feel this narrative is woefully under-appreciated. I think there’s something beautiful about watching people who aren’t near the top of their field, “normal” people who are just trying to have fun. But that doesn’t make a good story usually. I’ve tried writing some fiction along these lines, and it requires quite a bit more narrative to convey.
The writer mentions Kilduff is a 'trained comedian'. Is that really something you can go to school and study? To me it came off as implying that was superior to being an untrained comedian.
From this interview [1] for Vice:
> He also trained with famed sketch comedy troupe the Groundlings (past alumni include Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig) and studied improv at Los Angeles City College.
The "Groundlings" homepage [2] describes them as a "non-profit organization that offers shows, classes, and corporate events in improvisation and sketch comedy*, while LACC offers some courses through the Rodney Dangerfield Institute [3].
So while there doesn't seem to be an "M.Sc. in comedy" you can learn it at some institutions, as long as you're willing to move to LA.
[1] https://www.vice.com/en/article/mr-lets-paint-is-the-most-in...
[2] https://groundlings.com/
[3] https://www.lacc.edu/academic-programs/rodney-dangerfield-in...
I wonder how the grading and assessment standards are for comedians.
I heard it's a joke.
Ha ha.
I do believe that humor and being funny can be learned, and thus taught. Everything from language structure, pacing, expectations (eg the listener builds an expectation or belief of what the comedian talks about, but in the last few words, it is revealed that you were completely wrong). Hm. I find I have a hard time expressing myself, I lack the words and terminology and frameworks I think...
I'll train you for $50
>>Is that really something you can go to school and study?
School can teach you a lot about how not to make big mistakes, that given, its up to you to figure out how to go up from there.
This is great. One of the things I say to my wife all the time, which is taken from a Kurt Vonnegut quote, is that "I don't have to be good at my hobbies".
You could head for Chesterton as well: "anything worth doing is worth doing poorly."
How is this from 2024 and I get a NRD (newly registered domain) block? Site was moved?
My wife commissioned a painting of my dog from John Kilduff after I made her watch some Lets Paint TV.
when reading that I couldn't help but think of how you could learn from failure from this early apple story:
https://www.folklore.org/Make_a_Mess,_Clean_it_Up!.html
(maybe not the same as not worrying about failure)
This is just another way of pampering and making people insensitive or oblivious to what is desirable and what is not, what is progress and what is not. Saying whatever you do is right or no need to strive for improvement etc just for the sake of keeping them happy, is more harmful than telling them that they are doing it bad. People should learn to accept correct feedback, not expect total lack of it.
There is nothing called absolute success or failure, but there is a direction for improvement. You need to make sure to know which direction is improvement and which is not, and move in right direction. Correct feedback is important, just like what this my comment is doing.
> Saying whatever you do is right or no need to strive for improvement etc just for the sake of keeping them happy, is more harmful than telling them that they are doing it bad.
I notice you don’t say why this should be true. It’s easy to see why one might consider it true for someone’s profession - but when it comes to hobbies, or people trying something they’ve never done before, your perspective is less obviously correct.
Nice reminder that constraints can push creativity in ways perfect conditions never do. The treadmill setup makes the painting less predictable and more intentional, and the piece works because of that challenge, not despite it.